It is somewhat surprising to see a former hard-rock band like Dizmas (emphasis on "former") release a semi-compilation, semi full-length album. Even more surprising is the fact that they have almost completely negated their heavy guitar-driven rock for more radio-friendly pop that bears a painfully striking resemblance to Jeremy Camp, Mark Schultz, Nichole Nordeman and a glut of other Christian pop-rock bands. Oh, Dizmas doesn't play this style badly, but the fact is that if I, or anyone else were listening to Christian radio, we would not be able to distinguish them from any other pop rock band. However, let's give them the benefit of the doubt, shall we?
Track Listing:
- Yours
- Play It Safe
- Save The Day
- Redemption, Passion, Glory
- Different
- Shake It Off
- Jealousy Hurts
- This Is A Warning
- Worth Fighting For
- Dance
Being a semi-compilation, there are 4 new songs, "Yours", "Save The Day", "Different" and "Worth Fighting For". The rest of the tracks are "some of Dizmas' most popular" although the fact that there are only 10 tracks hints that it was not that hard to pick them.
"Yours" is the first track off the album, and it is questionable as to why it is the opening track, because it is, to put it bluntly, bland. The cutting edge so apparent on their debut album, On A Search In America is not here, and the song itself is average, both lyrically and musically. The fact that Zach Zegan sings "Oh, I need a saviour" in the prechorus just screams cheesy Christian rock. Now, don't get me wrong here, I have nothing wrong with Christian rock or worshipful lyrics. I myself am a practicing Christian, and am firmly convicted that I do indeed need a saviour. However, this topic has been done SO many times before (I'm not kidding, research it yourself) and one has to wonder why Dizmas have not perhaps put their own spin on the subject matter. The song is not bad, but just too average to be worth listening to. "Play It Safe" ups the ante a little bit, and is thankfully a little bit catchier than its predecessor, experimenting with dance-rock and being driven by the rhythm section of the band. Sadly, in the entire album, the 4 new tracks are not standouts, and it is the old stagers such as "Redemption, Passion, Glory" and the aforementioned "Play It Safe". These two tracks also suffer from the overbearing lack of variety apparent in the album. There is no acoustic ballad at the end, nor is there a variation in the intensity of the songs. All of them are feel-good pop-rockers, which would be decent tunes on their own, but when clumped together have their glaring deficiencies magnified.
As a musical unit, Dizmas have not matured that much, unlike bands such as Mayday Parade and Anberlin. Although this is a semi-compilation, and therefore not a total departure from previous albums, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Dizmas are quite content to sit on their laurels as a band, without striving for improvement. The band, consisting of Zach Zegan on lead vocals, his brother Josh on guitar, Jon Howard on guitar, Nick Aranda on bass and Clayton Hunt on drums, are reasonably proficient musicians, but their music lacks the cutting edge which would take them to the forefront of Christian music. Hunt does not hit the drums with any real conviction, despite the fact that he comes up with some pretty intuitive fills on songs like "Different". This lack of intensity on the drums may also be due to the production crew, spearheaded by Steve Wilson (Hawk Nelson). The crash and ride cymbals do not pierce through the wall of sound, and as a result create a muddy noise. This is also the case with the guitars, which sound muffled and don't carry any bite. The only instrument that does a decent overall job is the bass, which is bouncy on some songs and rich on others. Zach's vocals are not anything different from your usual post-hardcore fare, and overall the musical area of the album does not impress.
The lyrics do not fare much better. Most of the songs deal with fairly shallow subject matter, such as redemption by Jesus, the need for a saviour, celebration because of freedom, etc. These topics should be fine for people who just like to listen to music for the sake of it, but for those who like to delve deeper into it the lyrics are quite disappointing. Granted, deep Christian rock lyrics are not easy to create, but they are by no means impossible. And if the band (or the Zegans, rather) had taken the time to craft slightly less straightforward lyrics, the whole package might have been made more appealing due to the mystery effect. As it is, the lyrical simplicity compounds the plainness of the album. Add into the mix the somewhat monochromatic and rather uncreative front cover design and you have a fairly average album.
Because this is a compilation album, there is still hope for Dizmas. The four new tracks can be used as a platform to build bigger, better songs, because this band really has potential. However, if they continue in this sort of form, it won't be long before they go the way of so many other failed bands before them. In short, buy the 4 new songs on iTunes if you MUST hear them, but otherwise only buy the album if you are a diehard Dizmas fan. If you are just getting into them, you would be better off with
their previous release, Tension, or their debut On a Search in America. All in all, a disappointing effort from a band which really can play much better than this.
Rating :2.5/5
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